31 July 2025: Andrew Wilkie, Independent MP for Clark, moved a motion on this subject in the Parliament earlier this week.
'[I]t’s beyond time that the Government acted on the principles they claimed to have just three and a bit years ago and finally addressed access and affordability in the higher education system. And a great place to start would be scrapping the Morrison-era Jobs Ready Graduates Scheme, and returning to the Whitlam-era fee-free first degrees.'
The Australian Historical Association (AHA) has sent to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Education Jason Clare, Minister for Business and Innovation Tim Ayres, and Minister for Youth Jess Walsh an Open Letter calling for the repeal of Job-Ready Graduates.
The letter was signed by more than 100 distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to Australian cultural, social and political life. All completed a Bachelor of Arts degree. They include leaders, writers and historians Megan Davis, Raimond Gaita, Helen Garner, Kate Grenville, Marilyn Lake, Henry Reynolds, Lynette Russell, Emma Shortis, Anne Summers, Don Watson, Tim Winton, and Clare Wright.
Job-Ready Graduates has been a destructive policy for the university sector but especially for the arts and humanities, increasing the price of the BA to such extraordinary heights as to present a serious, and in many cases, insurmountable obstacle to those wishing to undertake further education in these fields. First Nations, LGBTQIA+, first-in-family, remote and regional, and low-income students overwhelmingly feel the effects of these increased fees. We want to ensure that the Bachelor of Arts remains accessible to everyone who wishes to study the arts, humanities and social sciences, and history in particular.
To take further action, go here. Guardian article. ABC interview November 2024 with Professor Michelle Arrow, President, AHA. Sign the petition.
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